Advantages Of Male Harris Hawks

[The REAL Talpa 2]

Hello. I wonder if anyone more experienced than me can tell me any distinct advantages of any would a male harris have over a female. I'm aware females are bigger and more powerful but there must be some advantage with a male or everyone would have females. Any comments or experiences very much appreciated. thankyou

[Accip74 7,112]

Females for sure are more popular & are more commonly the choice of novices & experienced austringer's alike.......but in my opinion the male is often sadly overlooked........

 

I'm not sure about advantages mate, because let's be honest here, the female has the overall advantage in pretty much every department when it comes to hunting, whether it's tackling rabbits, long flights after pheasants or obviously in pursuit of hares......

 

But I can list some preferences & maybe one advantage for the novice........IMO the advantage would be a better education from the start, in respect that flying a male will teach you finer weight control & skill at getting the bird properly entered & continually motivated to work at his upper limits...........remember motivation is as important as weight.....

Regular success will more than likely mean you'll be working within a window of say 1/4 oz, hitting that mark regular, plus keeping the bird fit & motivated will be a steep learning curve, believe me......

Again keeping a small bird motivated on rabbits, to continually take the ruff & tumble, again will be down to good entering & handling......these things will be a little easier with a female, although many may disagree......

 

I'm a big fan of the males......Harris or goshawk, because I think the sport had with them is far superior...........taking rabbits & pheasants regular is a lot more exiting imo.........I'm more interested in how game is caught, rather than how much is caught...

Males temperament wise can also be more forgiving than the females.......again just preference.....

I think males are better in woodland, but I prefer woodland/forest hunting......

If they are vocal at home, which many are, the males voice is a lot more bareable, a screaming female can wake the dead!

Males are cheaper :-)

 

It's mostly just preference mate & depending on how you like to hunt, if you are gonna be chucking a bird out the window of a car at corvids......then again, a male might be more suitable..........but legally you wouldn't be doing that anyway would you? ;-)

 

Atb

 

P.S decent bags can be had with a male :-)

 

Edited June 23, 2015 by Accip74

[j j m 6,532]

My male harris is 6 years old and his main advantage is on feather hes a lot quicker then my female is, I trained him from day one on feather as the golf course I fly him on is overun with corvids and the likes and not many bunnys,

[The REAL Talpa 2]

Thankyou very much. This has been very helpful.

[youcanthide...BANG 1,051]

Ive flown both and the males are quick off the glove and more manoeuverable. But for me the power of the females makes them my favorite. Saying that she's a very small female my current bird, only 1lb 13oz so she's pretty quick but has the foot power the males lack. Saying that though it depends how much work you put into them. More muscle on them the better they will perform

[Accip74 7,112]

If you do decide on a male, do your research!

 

You want to be finding out average hunting weights (NOT aviary weights) of males from the breeders you chose to contact.

Hopefully you'll get some honest answers......

 

I'd be looking for average hunting weights of no lower than 1lb 7oz, preferably heading towards the 1lb 9oz or higher if you're really lucky! To make a decent all round bird for fur & feather.........

 

Of course weights are relative to how YOU handle the birds as well, but that's a rough guide.......& some folk will say ''my little 1lb 5oz male takes rabbits all day.......blah blah blah", but trust me, when it comes to males, bigger is better :-)

 

Atb

Edited June 24, 2015 by Accip74

[j j m 6,532]

my male flys at 1.6ozs and takes most things that fly,after the moult i start him on jump ups to build the leg muscles up

[Brooklin Sibley 45]

Males will cost you less food wise, quicker in bursts of speed, more agile and lighter to carry on the glove, comes down to preference though, also people tend to fly males on feather more so than females but it comes down to preference mate as males can take everything a female can.

[charlie caller 3,654]

Good advice and bigger is deffo better where males are concerned, I flew a little male, lamping mainly, he would catch hold of rabbit after rabbit, but lose a lot,especially big buck rabbits, and I had to pull him out of many a rabbit hole after being dragged down, it did make me a little frustrated to say the least, now I fly a male redtail, so dont have that problem any more

[Shotguner 3]

Best thing to do is look at the natural behaviour of the Harris , in the wild , you will have a bunch of males flying around the trees and outer edges of fields chasing rabbits into the open , the female then makes the kill , eats he fill them the males get to eat once she has finished .

So the males will naturally fly harder for longer , and are by far easier to train because the female is the more dominant one , it's very easy to find a female trying to train the falconer rather than the other way around , but as said , a male needs to have his pray taken away quicker because a small feed on a rabbit will mean he has to sit down for a few days because he can go off his weight very quickly